Day Two-Thirty-Seven: The Great Escape

Shit. Another person has disappeared, and THIS time, it's definitely Prince Logan's doing. I have irrefutable proof that points the waggling finger of justice RIGHT at him.

Namely, I saw him do it.

Grylock is gone, diary, but his advice remained: check on the kangaroo. Aka the werewolf. Aka the orc. Aka the boxer. Aka Antonia. Like I said yesterday, I haven't visited her in ages, and there's a good reason for it: she's… well, she's a fuckin' werewolf, yeah? She's not gonna care THAT much if I don't come for a visit.

I've not touched on Antonia's enclosure in the dungeon because, frankly, it's a little depressing. Ever since we solved the werewolf invasion a couple months back, she's been isolated in a cramped cell, far from the other prisoners, and held in one place by strong chains. She gets food and water once a day, both of 'em fed to her via a chute in the ceiling. If she's not ready to catch 'em in her mouth, she goes without until the next day.

I've been on this duty before. I made sure to give her triple the usual amount of grub. And I've tossed the occasional yak tart down the chute, when nobody was looking. Figured I could be arrested for it, so I didn't say anything, but… doesn't much matter, now…

(This might sound horribly inhumane, diary… and it is… but if you could see Antonia, you might understand. She's BIG. Taking in so much wolfy-crap made her into some kinda super werewolf. Bloody buff, and more vicious 'n ever. If we tried to feed her close up, we'd become the meals.)

Grylock said Logan had been talking about his kangaroo yesterday, so I figured it would be a good idea to wait it out in the dungeon and watch her cell. I pulled a few strings with Queen Daena, and she had the normal guard on duty (Bernard, of all people) pulled for the day so I could set up shop and wait.

The dungeon is predictably dull. It's right across from the treasury, meant as a method of torture for greedy prisoners, but staring at endless piles of gold gets pretty boring after a while. Especially when you can't reach 'em. The prisoners aren't too talkative, so I wadded up a bed of straw, sat down near the padlocked door to Antonia's cell, and waited for Logan to come calling.

And waited.

Waaaaaaaaaited.

Waaaaaaaaaaait… snooze.

Of course I fell asleep. This is me. Dragomir. I like my naps. If I'm laying down I'm napping, unless, of course, I'm being kicked or punched or something. Neither of those things was happening, hence, I napped.

For… three hours.

Prince Logan should have gotten past without me noticing. He's deathly quiet when he wants to be, and even if he is lookin' pale and sickly, that part of his personality hasn't changed. He managed to pick the massive lock on the door and get inside without a bit of difficulty.

Once he got IN Antonia's cell, though, it all changed, 'cause his happy kangaroo, infused with the bestial urges of a couple hundred werewolves, stirred up quite a racket. She lunged at him.

Her snarls and snaps woke me up instantly, and I bolted towards the open door to see what had happened. Probably a bad idea, that, though you know FULL WELL that I'm dripping to the brim with bad ideas, diary -

- and besides, if I hadn't, I wouldn't have witnessed the marvel that is Prince Logan's lockpicking skills.

Logan must have known that Antonia, even as his former pet, never woulda let him come close. She's too far gone, thanks to the effects of her lycanthropy, to NOT attack him. And she sure as hell tried! Despite her tight bonds she managed to rip one of the chains out of the wall, and she swiped at him dozens of times.

To no use, though. Logan combined his lockpicking with his speed to create a masterful dervish of action, avoiding Antonia's free claws and snapping mouth while weaving in at the many locks binding the werewolf. In moments all of the locks were undone, and the chains removed from Antonia's limbs, and she was ready to leap at Logan in her full fury.

But she didn't. She stopped. She sniffed. And she bolted.

I barely got out of the way as a mass of brown fur rocketed through the door, landing in the middle of the dungeon. Prisoners on all sides cowered away from Antonia, most trying to hide under their straw beds, some calling for more guards to recapture the werewolf. One even begged ME to take her down, and I had to laugh at him despite the predicament.

I feared that Antonia might attack me. She didn't. She fled, charging down the corridors and out of sight. I tried to chase after her, but my pants… they proved… too heavy. Besides, I heard lots of commotion and clamouring from the passageways above, so I figured most people had gotten the message.

There were extra breeches for the prisoners close at hand. I grabbed a pair, donned 'em (everybody was too petrified to whistle at my bare bottom), and checked the werewolf's former prison. No sign of Logan. He must've slipped out during the confusion.

Captain Cedric charged into the dungeon a few minutes later to find out "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON YOU TWATWEASEL?!", in his own words. I couldn't dream up a lie that wouldn't get me in trouble, so I told him the truth. Prince Logan let the werewolf out.

… a modified truth. Prince Logan ordered me to stand aside while he let the werewolf out. (Me being awake would have changed nothing, and we both know it, diary… but why make one's self look bad when one can NOT make one's self look bad? One.)

I received a beating despite my attempts to mollify the good captain, because, frankly, a werewolf was set loose on the castle. Again! I don't know of Cedric appreciates that HE was the one running wild last time, but, again! At least there will be a lot less hair to clean up this time.

Antonia didn't try to attack anyone. Every report I heard said that she went straight for the wall, leaped over the moat, and stampeded into the hills. She is gone, diary, and I doubt we'll see her again any time soon.

I don't get it. Why in the many hells would Prince Logan set her loose? I can understand symapthy for her, but if that's the case, why now? Why risk the lives of everyone in this castle for one person?! Damned irresponsible for a prince! Damned irresponsible for ANYONE! AND HE'S VANISHED AGAIN!

Ugh. I've given up for today. Playing with one of Libby's new gadgets (she calls it a 'board game') takes precedence. I'll keep looking for that little bastard tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Dragomir the Tracker